Caliya’s Chronicle of Runes

December Update
8 months ago – Sat, Dec 20, 2025 at 06:24:41 PM

Hello there! I hope you're all having a fantastic start to the holiday season.

I've been whittling away at my list of final tasks for the book. The most visually apparent part of this has been getting the last pieces of art in. (Filling in those final holes in the pages really starts to make everything look complete, which is amazing to see!)

The major part on my end, however, has just been completing my final review/editing pass on everything in the book, taking into account all the feedback I've gotten. I know this part isn't very obvious (at a glance) what's being worked on, since it's more about perfecting things that are already there, rather than adding new and exciting things. But to me, this step—polishing everything to make it precise and print-ready—may be the most crucial part of the entire project.

I've never been one to compromise quality in favor of speed, and admittedly the book is a fair bit larger than I originally expected as well, so I do apologize for the delays this project has seen. I'm confident that dedication to quality will shine through in the final product. (And has already shone through in the playtest PDFs you've received as the book has developed!)

All-in-all, I'll have the final Beta ready to send out to you folks next week. The scripts for the last couple languages will need to be dropped in once they're ready, and the Heliana's-based rune pricing is still in progress, but other than that, the content in that PDF (runes, races, subclasses, monsters, etc.) should be its final version for the first-edition print of the book!

As for a timeline for shipment/distribution of products (factoring in lead time for printing/manufacturing), it's looking like everything will begin shipping out in the Spring. I know we're all anxious to have the various pieces of this project in our hands ASAP, so thank you for sticking with me through it.

Please feel free to reach out to me, as always, if you have any questions! Either here or via email/the Discord server. Thanks again, folks. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year. 🙂

– Tony

October Update!
9 months ago – Sat, Nov 01, 2025 at 06:18:07 PM

Happy Halloween! (Sorry, started writing this up yesterday, but got sidetracked by Halloween festivities with the family!)

I've just sent out the latest update to the Beta Playtest PDF. So be sure to go check it out! I know this has been a long time coming, but I'm getting very excited as the book closes in on the finish line!

If you'd like to look over the book and get any thoughts to me before it goes to print, now is your chance! The deadline there will be closing soon! (Best ways to reach out are by email or on the Discord server.)

This update includes the fully revised and polished versions of every subclass, and nearly every race. (Who decided it was a good idea to put 18 Tieflings in this book?) A few of the languages' runes are similarly fully revised and print-ready, however several of the languages still need that final treatment from me. So that will be my primary focus over the next few weeks.-

I know I'm just a nerd, but I'm rather proud of how the Appendices are shaping up. If you haven't checked them out, the "Index of In-Book Content References" is an organized set of tables documenting every use of new content in the book that's referenced in another section of the book (e.g. a new spell in the Spells section that's used by one of the monsters in the Bestiary). Throughout the book, these are marked with a gold, superscript "C" (for "Caliya") as an indication that this is not something from the core 5e rules, and it's new content included elsewhere in the book.

I'm also working with the awesome folks at Loot Tavern to get the free crafting supplement out to you all soon as well—providing crafting recipes and prices for all 480 runes in the book!

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or need anything. Appreciate you, folks!

– Tony

September Update
11 months ago – Tue, Sep 30, 2025 at 03:23:24 PM

Greetings folks!

If you missed the update last month, Caliya's Chronicle of Runes is in its Beta playtest phase, so make sure to go grab the PDF from BackerKit and check it out if you haven't yet. (I can help locate your downloads if you're not sure how to access them.) Already been getting some great feedback from you all via email and the Discord server, so thank you!

I've been making good progress with my own final edits as well and getting some of the last pieces of art in the book. Exciting stuff! I will have an updated Beta sent out to everyone later this week with the latest revisions, so keep your eyes on your inbox for that.

I'm anticipating the book to be fully finished and sent off to the printer in November-December, depending on how long it takes to iron out the final wrinkles. I'd prefer it to be sooner, of course, as I know all of you would too, but I'm trying to set realistic expectations based on the current progress. So with that plus production time, we're likely looking at Spring for shipment of physical products—hopefully on the earlier end there, maybe even late-Winter if things move along well. But I've learned better from friends (some of your other favorite creators who have worked on similar projects) that you should expect delays at just about every step in the process.

Thanks as always for hanging with me as this project approaches the home stretch and we really make everything as pristine as possible for the final release. And as always, feel free to send me a message if you have any questions. Thanks, friends!

– Tony

August Update – BETA Playtest Sent (Check Your Inbox!)
12 months ago – Thu, Aug 21, 2025 at 11:42:50 AM

Hi folks!

I'm excited to share the full Beta PDF of Caliya's Chronicle of Runes with you. All playtest content is included and ready for your feedback—which can be sent to me via email at [email protected] or over on the Discord server.

If you haven't kept up with the periodic Alpha releases, now's your chance to get final feedback in before the book goes to print! (If you haven't been receiving them, message me and I can help get you your downloads.) In addition to continued tidying and editing, this playtest PDF includes the final chunk of monsters for the book.

There are still a few non-playtest bits that will be in the final version of the book: notably, a more flavorful preface/intro, some art, and in-character "notes from Caliya" (these make up the majority of blank spaces you may still see on some pages). As these bits largely aren't necessary for proper playtest feedback, they will be incorporated in the final first-edition release of the PDF/book.

Now begins my final effort of reviewing everything—combing through every piece of lore, every rune, and any lingering notes folks have sent me—to ensure the book is pristine and ready for print. It's likely that I'll release an updated Beta in a few weeks to share my progress incorporating the feedback you all send and any further revisions I've made.

You've all been incredibly gracious through this process. Thanks for your patience and supporting me in the goal to provide the highest-quality final result possible, even if that's taken longer to achieve than any of us had hoped!

As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions!

Thanks friends,

– Tony

June Update
about 1 year ago – Sun, Jun 22, 2025 at 11:57:03 PM

Hi friends,

This won't be a super long update as I'm excitedly pushing through the last few Runemaster NPCs right now. I had hoped the next PDF update would be the first full "Beta" release, but I think I'm gonna just push out what should actually be the last Alpha so I can get these Runemasters (lore/quest hooks and stat blocks) in your hands ASAP to start getting feedback on them.

In fact, I'll include an image of one here as a preview!

After I'm through with these and send out this last Alpha playtest, all that remains for the book is:

1. 1) Rune Prices (a big table organizing the runes by power, based in the Heliana's crafting system)
2. 2) About 15 more monsters
3. 3) Filling out the Index of Sidebars
4. 4) 4 more fonts (Druidic, Necril, Thieves' Cant, Wilderyn)

Once all of that's in, I'll release the Beta. And from there it'll just be a matter of getting in any final feedback from you awesome folks, filling in some missing art pieces, and reviewing/polishing everything to be fully ready for print.

A few people have very kindly but understandably been asking about the current projected timeline. I'm aiming for shipping of books around the end of the year. You have all been overwhelmingly supportive and patient as I've worked through everything, so thank you, sincerely.

Be on the lookout for the "Runemasters" PDF update in the next couple days! And if you have any questions, you can reach out to me here on Kickstarter, by email at [email protected], or over on the Discord server.

Thanks!

– Tony